Holiday Recipe - Cheese Triangles (Tiropitakia)

Here's another holiday recipe I used to make every Christmas Eve. This recipe also comes from my Betty Crocker New Christmas Cookbook. The book calls them "cheese triangles." They are known as Tiropitakia in Greece. 

Like most Greek foods, I've found this to be a time-consuming project. You must cut the phyllo sheets into thirds, separate the sheets, and wrap them around the cheese mixture inside, which can be back breaking work. Phyllo dries out quickly, so it is a good idea to cover them by a sheet of waxed paper and a damp towel to keep them moist. If the sheets dry, they are impossible to work with.

While this is not a recipe you should make if you are pressed for time, it can be made up to 24 hours ahead of time and refrigerated. These are also very delicious!

CHEESE TRIANGLES

1 pound of feta cheese*
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 cup finely chopped chives
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 package (16 ounces) frozen phyllo sheets, thawed
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) margarine or butter, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheet.

Crumble cheese in small bowl (Grocery stores also sell containers of crumbled feta); mash with fork.

Stir in eggs, chives and white pepper until well mixed.

Cut stack of phyllo sheets lengthwise into thirds. use two sheets for each strip.

Place one heaping teaspoon cheese mixture on end of strip; fold phyllo strip end over end, in triangular shape, to opposite end.

Place on cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining phyllo and cheese mixture. (Triangles can be covered and refrigerated up to 24 hours at this point.)

Brush butter over triangles. Bake about 20 minutes or until puffed and golden. About 36 appetizers.

* Finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese can be substituted for the mashed feta cheese.

Note: While it says to place a heaping teaspoon of mixture on the sheets, don't overstuff them or they will be hard to wrap.